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Topic: I have declared in another thread that GAS is over for me... But... (Read 102881 times)

I have declared in another thread that GAS is over for me so I thought of sharing my story just for the heck of it. My gear journey is not as great as Esse's or the other GAS gods here but I hope you guys would find it interesting.

This is the GAS story of the financially challenged. Here it goes...

Less than 3 years ago, naisipan ko lang na maggitara ulit after ko huminto sa pagtugtog for 8 years. Noong panahon na yun, the last time I played a guitar was when I performed at a tribute show in UP Baguio with a band that we formed para lang sa event na yun. I was in my second year in college then. After that, I just totally stopped playing the guitar.

So, I went to Megamall, pumasok ako sa Perfect Pitch, at bumili ng Squier Strat in 3 Tone Sunburst na may kasamang practice amp, cable, strap, etc. At first, the guitar was fine naman. Pero after a few weeks, I started GASing for a guitar with humbuckers kasi ang lakas ng hum nung Squier Strat.

This time, I went to Yupangco's main showroom. Bumili ako ng Yamaha na RG(something) with HSH pickup configuration. Yun kasi ang gitara with humbuckers na pasok sa budget ko that time. After a week, I sold my Strat nang bagsak presyo. And after a couple of weeks more, I began missing the single coil sound.

I tried so hard to resist GAS so I did not go to a music store right away to buy another guitar. Weeks passed. Until one day, I received an email from a music store. There it is. What I've been waiting for... Yupangco's M. E. S. S. promo. They're selling the Fender MIM Strats for like 20% off!!! So, I started calling some of their branches to look for a white Fender MIM Strat. Megamall. SM North Edsa. Main Showroom. Wala daw puting MIM Strat. And finally, when I called their Park Square branch, meron daw!!!

Actually, I was scheduled to leave for the US the following day so I thought of just buying a guitar there. But GAS has taken over my mind and spirit. I was like, "I want that white Fender Strat right now!!!". So, before I started packing for my US trip early morning the following day, I was on my way to Park Square. When I arrived, there it was... Being polished by the salesperson. It was so pretty, so shiny, so white!!! I tested it for around 20 minutes, I loved it, so I paid for it and went home.

I just bought a brand new Fender Strat so I didn't even bother to go to music stores while I was in the US. When I arrived back to the Philippines, I bonded with my new guitar for hours everyday, using the Squier amp that I got together with the Squier Strat. I really really liked it!

So, there I was, a satisfied bedroom guitarist. GAS-free... Until I received another email from Yupangco. It was time for M. E. S. S. again! One of the items that went on sale was a Yamaha F310P acoustic guitar. Long story short, I bought it thinking that “Para kahit mag-brownout, pwede pa din ako magggitara…”

To be continued… Gotta get back to work muna. I will try to post photos of the guitars later when I get home, if i could find them.

So… I already have a Yamaha RG(something), a Fender Strat MIM, a Yamaha F310P and a Squier 10 watt freebie amp. I was a very satisfied bedroom guitarist with below average skills.

One day, I decided to post photos of my guitars on Facebook. A fraternity brother of mine who’s in a band saw the photos and sent me a text message right away… “Baka gusto mo mag-effects, may binebenta ako na effects ngayon, Korg AX3000G. I have to get rid of it kasi nakabili na ako ng Boss GT10.”

Then, an idea puffed out of my mind. I guess this Korg thingy would sound a lot better if I use a bigger and better amp! I was like, “Kasya naman na siguro ang walong libo. Makakabili na siguro ako ng matinong amp sa halagang yan…”

I called Yupangco, JB Music, Audiophile and Lyric to inquire if I could avail of a 60 watt or bigger amp for P8,000 or lower. I think you already know the answers that I got from these stores. Hihihihi…

So I Googled the phone numbers of the music stores in Raon. I was thinking since these stores are not located in malls, they must have lower prices. One of the salespersons in one of the stores I called said, “Ay, meron sir! Stagg ang tatak!!! _____ lang ang presyo!” (Sorry, I really can’t remember how much the price of that amp was.)

The following morning, my wife and I drove to the Quiapo area, looked for the store (I also can’t remember the name of the store. Sorry.), and tested the amp. They plugged in a Stagg Strat to the amp and let me test it. I cranked the amp and strummed a G chord just to have an idea how loud it could get. It was loud! I really liked the cleans of that amp. The only bad thing about it… It was friggin’ heavy!!! My wife and I had to get a pedicab to bring the amp to our car. LAWL!!!

When we got home, I plugged the Korg multieffects to the Stagg amp right away. Whoa! I thought the sound that came out of the amp was really sweet! The dirt sounds were crunchy, the chorus was lush, everything was perfect according to my taste!

Again, at that point, I was a very satisfied bedroom guitarist with a decent guitar, decent multieffects, and this time a decent amp. Squier freebie amp went straight into the closet.

The “ber” months came. Christmas was just around the corner and I was one of the officers of our employees association at work that year. The employees association takes care of the Christmas party every year so I was one of the organizers of the upcoming party. I thought, since I have instruments, I should perform at the party!!! So, I talked to one of my co-workers who can also play and sing and we decided that we will perform 4 to 5 songs with an acoustic guitar and some percussion using the Yamaha DD65 electronic drums that I bought couple of weeks ago. Oh yes, I forgot about the DD65 drums! We were all set!

One night, my wife and I went out. I went to Pier 1 on Buendia with my fraternity brothers and she went to Pizzeria Uno in MOA with her friends. We decided that we would go home at around midnight, I would just drive to MOA to fetch her.

That was the night that changed my GAS life…

When I drove to MOA to fetch wifey, she said I should park first because they haven’t asked for the bill yet. So I parked and went to Pizzeria Uno. My wife was there, a girl co-worker friend, a guy co-worker friend, and the girl co-worker’s boyfriend (now husband). The girl co-worker’s boyfriend is no other than Doubletrouble!!! Yes, that’s the guy who influenced me to aim for the good stuff!

I ordered a beer, Doubletrouble and I talked. We learned that we are both into this guitar playing thingy. We’ve already met a lot of times before but we never knew that we both play the guitar. The only difference is that he is good and I’m not. LAWL!!!

I told him about this upcoming Christmas Party at work where I would perform acoustic songs with one co-worker. He told me he knew a drummer, I told him the co-worker who was gonna perform with me is really a bassist.

There you go… A band was formed.

To be continued again...(About to go home. Photos will be added soon.)

0. Stop playing for 5 years1. Buy brand-new & cheap Dean guitars from a guy in Manila2. Become a victim of Yupangco's M.E.S.S by getting a cheap Roland Cube3. Waste money on the wrong pedals, skimp on PSUs and cables4. GAS for a better amp and cables5. 6. Profit